


A gentle touch

by illusionistweiss



Series: Recovery [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Fluff, Kevin Day needs a hug, M/M, Panic Attacks, They all need hugs, dumb jocks in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-12 02:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20130823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illusionistweiss/pseuds/illusionistweiss
Summary: Kevin had a bad day. Good thing his boys are there to help piece him back together and hold him.





	A gentle touch

Being together for so many years tended to make you aware of little changes in your partner's emotions. So when Kevin pushed the door open to their shared apartment, it took barely a glance for Neil to realize something was wrong. He closed his book and gently nudged King away as King woke from her nap with a disgruntled noise. His eyes followed Kevin as the taller man toed his shoes off at the door haphazardly before trailing into the kitchen. Neil slowly got up and grabbed his phone and shot a quick text to Andrew. 

_Kevin had a bad day. Come home soon? _

Andrew responded with a simple _ yeah, i'll grab dinner on the way._

Neil slid his phone into his pocket and wrapped the blanket around himself more tightly before he made his way quietly to the kitchen. Kevin stood rigid at the counter, his back to Neil. The sunlight streamed in through the window, painting Kevin in a warm light. Neil appreciated the view for only a moment before stepping behind Kevin. He stopped before he touched him, knowing he was aware of his presence. 

“Yes or no?” Neil murmured quietly. Kevin held his rigid posture for only a moment longer before releasing the tenseness on an exhale. 

“Yes.” He replied just as quietly. That was all the acknowledgement Neil needed before he wrapped his arms and subsequently the blanket around Kevin. His arms looped loosely around Kevin’s middle and he rested his forehead between Kevin’s shoulder blades. He pressed soft kisses against soft skin and took a deep breath. He stood on his toes and pressed gentle kisses to Kevin’s neck. Andrew made comments about Neil’s neck fetish to this day, but Neil never heard either of them tell him to stop. The longer they stood there the more relaxed he felt Kevin become, although the core of it still sat there, unresolved. 

“Wanna talk about it?” Neil murmured. He fell back on his feet with a soft sound, but kept his body pressed as close to Kevin’s as he could. Kevin pressed back against him and took a shuddering breath. 

“Not really. But…” He trailed off. He gently pushed Neil back enough where he could turn around and face him. He reached his hand up and ran his fingers through Neil’s hair gently. He rested his head on top of Neil’s and took another deep breath. “I need to, right?” At Neil’s silent nod he sighed. “Let’s go sit on the couch.” He didn’t want Neil to move away from him, so he did the only reasonable thing he could do and picked Neil up, both of his hands going right under Neil’s ass. Neil huffed out a laugh and wrapped his arms and legs around Kevin’s frame and pressed another kiss to his neck. 

“Clingy.” Neil teased playfully. Kevin snorted a quiet laugh and shook his head.

“That’s rich coming from you, Josten. It’s almost impossible to unwrap you from around me in the mornings, you fucking octopus.” Kevin said, trying for a condescending tone but ending up on fond. He moved one hand and adjusted the blanket as he came to a stop in front of the couch. He fell back and laid out, his longer legs up on the opposite arm rest. Neil unwrapped his legs from Kevin’s waist and tangled their legs together. He made a soft noise as King and Sir immediately jumped on his back and got comfortable. 

“Glad to see you two are comfortable.” Neil grumbled, but a fond smile crossed his face as they kneaded his back and curled up. Kevin reached back to pet both of them with one hand while stroking the other through Neil’s hair. 

“Drew’s gonna be home with dinner soon. Want to wait for him and eat first?” Neil mumbled, voice muffled by Kevin’s chest. 

“We should. I don’t want to repeat it all twice.” Kevin said after a moment. He just let himself relax, centering himself with the weight of Neil and the cats pressing on his chest. He must have dozed off, because the next thing he knew he heard Neil’s voice close to his ear. 

“-vin? Kevin, wake up.” Kevin grumbled as he opened his eyes slowly. The first thing he noticed was the weight off his chest. Neil and the cats had moved off of him at some point. Once he registered Neil was standing over him he reached up and tugged Neil down to lay down again on top of him. Neil laughed and tried to pry Kevin off him gently. 

“As much as I would love to stay here all day, Andrew’s on his way up with dinner. C’mon, let’s get up.” Neil finally got out of Kevin’s grasp, gently nudging him until he sat up and kicked the blanket off. Neil walked behind the couch and kissed the top of Kevin’s head before walking to the front door and opening it to a waiting Andrew. Andrew’s arms were loaded with bags and he looked distinctly unimpressed at having to wait. Kevin yawned and stretched as he stood and made his way to their dining room table. He heard Neil and Andrew murmuring quietly at the door as Andrew kicked it shut. He sat down at the table and watched the two kiss softly before making their way over to him. Andrew sat their food down before leaning over to be eye level with Kevin. 

“Yes.” Kevin answered without waiting for the inevitable question. He leaned in and hummed quietly when Andrew tangled a hand in his hair. The kiss was one that left Kevin breathless when Andrew pulled away. 

“Eat, then we’ll talk.” Andrew said firmly as he pulled away. Kevin nodded mutely and ran his hand through his hair before watching Neil grab plates and start dishing food out. Andrew and Neil shared a glance between each other before Neil made Kevin’s plate. They would never say it out loud, but if one of them was having a bad day the other two would inevitably baby the other, if only a little. Even if it was just making them a plate for dinner, it made all of them feel a little better. 

He murmured his thanks as Neil set his plate in front of him and Andrew grabbed their drinks. They all sat down and began eating quietly, save for the sounds of the cats begging for table scraps. They crowded around Andrew’s ankles, knowing he was the one most likely to give them scraps. He’d never admit it out loud, but Andrew was the one who spoiled the cats the most. Kevin huffed out a quiet laugh as he watched the cats and Andrew, whose expression never changed. 

“Something funny, Day?” Andrew asked, his eyes flicking towards Kevin impassively. Neil let out a laugh as well, realizing what was going on. The cats were still meowing loudly, and Andrew’s expression never changed. 

“Nothing at all Drew.” Kevin grinned as he turned back to his food. Andrew watched him for a moment longer before huffing in annoyance. No one said anything as he reached down to pet the cats one handed as he ate. 

“You’re cute with the cats.” Neil said, a grin threatening to spill across his face. Andrew leveled his gaze across the table at Neil, and if it were anyone else they would have backed down but Neil just stared back. 

“What? It’s true. Kevin, tell him!” Neil stopped fighting the grin and nudged Kevin. Kevin looked between the two of them. 

“He is. It’s even cuter when they’re all napping on the couch together.” He agreed, trying his best to keep a straight face under Neil’s grin and Andrew’s glare. 

“You’re right. But he’s absolutely the cutest when he’s trying to read and the cats sit on his book and he tries to be angry.”

“Or what about when he’s half asleep and has one cat in his arms-” Kevin started before Andrew cut them both off. 

“If you two don’t shut the fuck up now-” He started. Neil grinned and winked at Kevin. 

“You’ll what Drew? Kill us? That threat stopped working when I got to 1000 percent.” He teased, but let that line of conversation stop.

“How was practice today?” Neil asked. They were all playing on separate teams currently, so they had to take the time when they could. Even now it felt like they were on borrowed time. The apartment they were in was technically Kevin's, but the other two had apartments close to their teams stadiums. They managed to steal away to each others apartments when they could, but all not so secretly hoped to be on the same team soon so they could be together like this more often. As it stood, Neil had to fly out Monday, Kevin on Wednesday, and they would be back to phone calls and video chatting. 

Kevin stiffened at the question. Andrew and Neil noticed and Andrew picked up the conversation. Neil silently reached out and tapped a finger against the back of Kevin’s hand before holding his hand out in question. 

“I didn’t kill anyone today. Or threaten anyone.” Andrew said blandly. Kevin took Neil’s hand and took a deep breath as Neil traced circles across the back of his hand in comfort. 

“Really? You’re going soft on us, Minyard.” Neil teased. Kevin could appreciate Neil trying to keep the mood light, knowing it was going to be hard later. 

“Say that again and I’ll rip your tongue out.” Andrew threatened,but it sounded fake even to him. 

“You like my tongue too much to rip it out.” Neil replied easily, brushing the comment off with a wave of his free hand. Andrew didn’t have a response for that so he settled on stabbing his food aggressively. Neil looked over at Kevin and winked conspiratorially.

“But I like Andrew soft. It’s nice. Don’t you think Kevin?” 

“It is nice.” Kevin replied as he tried to force the tension away.

“I’m in love with two idiots.” Andrew said grumpily, trying to force a blush away from his face. Contrary to what people believed, Andrew blushed easily, and it was a full body blush. Even know, it was clear his ears were turning red. 

Neil gently let go of Kevin’s hand and laughed before going back to his own food. They fell silent once more as they finished eating. Kevin stole glances at the other two men, a faint smile crossing his face as he stood to take his plate to the sink. Neil and Andrew began packing up the leftovers quickly, putting it all in the fridge. They moved over to Kevin who was leaned against the counter watching them. 

“Yes or no?” Andrew asked softly, looking up at Kevin. Neil paused at Andrew’s side, waiting for Kevin’s response.  
“Yes.” He said simply, opening his arms wide to the other men. They both pressed into Kevin’s side and wrapped arms around his waist, both of them resting their heads against his chest. They all stood like that for a moment, listening to the steady beat of Kevin’s heart. 

“Let’s go Junkies.” Andrew said after a moment as he pulled away and lead them to the couch. He leaned against the arm rest and let his legs fall open, motioning for Kevin to come sit in between his legs. Kevin crawled on the couch and rested his head against Andrew’s stomach. He sighed quietly as he felt Andrew run his fingers through his hair. Kevin opened his arms and Neil laid on top of him again. He rested his head on Kevin's chest and sighed quietly. 

"So what happened?" Neil asked after a moment. Kevin tenses for a moment and Andrew started to run fingers through Kevin's hair while Neil held Kevin's hand once more and traced circles with his thumb. It felt like they were holding Kevin together when he was threatening to break apart, and Kevin was okay with that thought. 

"A reporter came by as practice was finishing up." He said after a moment. "At first it was fine. The usual questions. How do I think the season will go, what do I think of my team. Then," he took a steadying breath and gripped tighter to Neil's hand. "Then he asked. It's been 5 years since Riko's death. Do you miss him? What do you think he would think of you know? And he just. Kept going. Coach tried to stop him but he wouldn't stop." 

Kevin's free hand went to his check and his tattoo in habit. Neil frowned and bit back an angry retort, wanting nothing more than to fight the reporter. 

"Its been 5 years." Kevin said softly, almost sounding disbelieving. "I hate him for what he turned into. But I miss how he was when we were kids. And that makes me feel shitty. Everything he did to us I should hate him. And I do.I've learned to separate who he was and who he became. So why can't I-" He cuts himself off and scrubs a hand across his face. They felt a tremor wrack its way through Kevin's chest as emotions collided within him. 

"Why can't I…" Neil repeated after a moment, when it was obvious Kevin couldn't speak. 

"Why can't I be free from him. Even in death it feels like he's still choking me. I've tried so hard to accept what happened and move on. But every time I think I've gotten better, its like I get suckerpunched. I want to be better than this. Stronger than this." 

"Kevin." Andrew finally said. His hand never stopped playing with Kevin's hair. "Listen to me and listen well. He is gone. He's 6 feet under and you aren't. You're alive. You stopped being in his shadow the moment you got your tattoo. Don't let him make you think you lost when you won a long time ago." Andrew finally stopped petting his hair and leaned over to look at Kevin in the eyes. Kevin couldn't look away and nodded weakly. 

"Kevin, you've grown so much. I don't think you can see it. But do you know how proud of you we are?" Neil agreed, he pressed closer to Kevin, tangling themselves together. 

He reached up and pressed a kiss to the underside of Kevin's jaw as Andrew leaned down to kiss Kevin's forehead. Kevin pulled Neil tighter to him and pressed as close to Andrew as he could. He struggled to breathe normally and ended up taking a ragged breathe that made his whole body shake. The ache in his chest felt like it was threatening to spill out of him and he fought to keep it contained. It didn't work, however, as Kevin felt his whole body shaking with the effort. 

Andrew and Neil didn't say a word, just continued holding him tight. Neil reached up and wiped some stray tears away. Kevin hadn't even realized he had started crying. 

"Hey, don't give that fucker your tears. He's not even worth it." Neil murmured. "I want to go fight that reporter. I'm gonna tear him apart." 

Andrew hummed his agreement and Kevin laughed weakly. "Don't. It'll be hell on your agents." Neil snorted and shook his head. 

"If Wymack could handle me tearing into Riko on television, I think my new coach can handle me tearing a reporter apart." Neil said as he began petting Kevins side in comfort.

"Besides, I'm sure our coaches realized what they were getting into when they signed us. If not, they're idiots." Andrew scoffed. Kevin huffed out a weak peal of laughter. Of course Andrew would think that way. 

"I don't want you to do that on my behalf." He closed his eyes and turned his face into Andrew's stomach and took a deep breath, the scent relaxing him. 

Neil pressed a kiss to Kevin's chest and sighed quietly. 

"Love you. You're safe here. We won't let anyone hurt you." Neil said fiercely.Andrew didn't say anything, but held onto Kevin tighter. Kevin pressed a kiss to Neil's forehead, then Andrews stomach. 

"Love you both. Can we go to bed?" Kevin mumbled, burying his face in Neil's hair. 

"Let's go, Junkies." Andrew gently nudged both of them so they'd stand up. Kevin wrapped his arms tight around Neil and rolled off the couch, not letting Neil go. Neil laughed delightedly as Kevin held him up one handed. Kevin reached his free hand towards Andrew, silently asking to hold his hand. Andrew stood and took his hand, guiding them towards the waiting bedroom. 

"Wanna get undressed?" Neil asked into Kevin's neck. Andrew dropped his hand and waited for an answer. Kevin nodded and released Neil, feeling his body slide flush against his. 

"Verbally." Andrew reminded from behind him. 

"Yes." Kevin replied on a breath, his hands resting on Neil's hips as he turned to look at Andrew. Andrew nodded and stepped closer to Kevin. 

Neil and Andrew's fingers went under his shirt, their fingers skimming across his hips and the small of his back. They both pressed kisses to his chest and back. They glanced at each other around Kevin before sliding his shirt off and tossing it towards the laundry basket. 

"Want your pants off?" Neil asked. 

"Yeah." Kevin let his hands slid across Neil's shoulders, enjoying the look of ease on the others face. Neil reached down and undid the button on Kevin's pants, before gently sliding them down. Neil's fingers ghosted across Kevin's thighs and Kevin shivered in response. Andrew's hands ran along his hands down his back and down to his ass. Andrew stretched up and pressed a kiss to the nape of his neck while Neil pressed a kiss to the base of his neck.

They must have shared another silent conversation, a thing Kevin had grown used too. They both began pressing kisses across Kevin's body, across his collarbone, his shoulders, his neck, stomach, and back. He felt himself melting, allowing himself to relax in front of the two men he knew would support him no matter what. 

They finally stopped kissing him and gently led him to the bed. They guided him to his spot on the bed and waited for a moment before Andrew and Neil undressed each other. Neil laid down beside him and pressed his back against Kevin's chest. Kevin threw his arm around his waist and pressed his face into Neil's shoulder and pressed a gentle kiss there. Kevin opened his hand and looked at Andrew over Neil's shoulder. Andrew huffed quietly and took his hand. Neil took Andrews other hand and kissed the knuckles gently. 

"Love you both." Neil mumbled, relaxing into Kevin's warmth. Kevin closed his eyes and pressed another kiss to his shoulder. 

"Love you." Kevin mumbled, already dozing off. 

"Junkies." Andrew said quietly, and maybe there was a softness to his voice he would only allowed around them. 

Kevin allowed a smile to cross his face as he relaxed and allowed himself to sleep. Recovery was a long process, but Kevin knew he could allow himself to heal around these men. 

Maybe one day he would be able to fully heal from his past trauma, but until then, he knew Andrew and Neil would be able to help him pick up his broken pieces and help him stay together.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi yes this is my first fanfic I've completed in years! I'm real excited about this. Ive got a to more on the way once I get my ass in gear and write.   
But! Feel free to follow me on Tumblr,   
thieving-dirtyhands.Tumblr.com  
And yell about some dumb jocks in love with me!


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